The Top Ten List of Most Violated Patient Rights
By Dr. Mark E. Meaney Patient rights are under siege, as evidenced in a recent survey conducted by the National Institute for Patient Rights (NIPR). NIPR staff compiled the results based on responses from 100 randomly selected, former hospital patients who took part in the study. The results of the survey show that, despite billions spent on advances in medical technology, patients daily experience an erosion of their rights “at the hospital bedside.” Ironically, it may be a consequence of the success of science in medicine. Among those responding to essay questions, the following was a typical scenario. A hospital admits a loved one with “complications” (a medical euphemism for “we really don’t know all that’s going on here, but there are several organs involved”). While the loved one rests in bed, a line of doctors and nurses seems to form at the door. One after another, doctors enter the room, make a few comments, then turn around and exit. Primary care physicians refer patien